I still haven't been able to find a town that allows multiple unrelated people to get together and rent a house in a single-family district.

I also still fail to see how the school is driving the economy. The school influences the economy, but it does not drive it. The numbers simply do not work. How can 25,000 students be supporting 45,000 residents?

The nazi comparison is humorous, to say the least.

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05-01-2005, 10:05 PM

nope

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Semi-native congrats on graduating college. You are still a dumbass posing as an intellectual. You seem to like numbers though so here are 4 points:

#1 It is undeniable that the school has a HUGE impact on local economy. Who is the largest employer in the city? Not just directly but indirectly. Including contractors. How much money is reinvested into our community by those people alone?

#2 The students do spent money. They buy gas and groceries. They're cars break down and they're clothes wear out. Not only do they spend money on education but they also spend a lot on entertainment. With out them there would be no salary for the many people who work for TSU. And the many people who are smart enough to cater to their needs. Ever go to Walmart or HEB on a saturday or sunday afternoon? Next time count how many students are in there spending money.

#3 This law is descriminatory, not only against students. I am a young professional. 26 years old. I am not a student. I do not have a family. I could rent my own place if I so choose. But the city would rather take that choice away from me. What about 2 single mothers sharing a house because they cant afford anything else? Minorities living with extended family who might not have the same last name? Anyone who is not in a family. Thats a lot of people to lump together.

#4 Enforcement. This law has your neighbours spying on you to enforce it. It is based on recording who's vehicle is parked at the residence over a 21 day period. And who that vehicle is registered to. That is how we are determining who lives where in San Marcos? And then you just file a complaint and the offenders get a ticket. What are the checks and balances in this system? Does this sound stupid to anyone else? This is the best our brave city leaders could come up with?

Come to think of it I would rather live in Hunter or Martindale if this is the type of asinine reasoning that is controling our local government.

I'm on the fence on this issue, but I'll say this. The OUTLET MALL is what has put this town on the map. And it brings in more money that the University ever could.

If people (any kind of people) who rent houses play it cool, they will never have a problem. And this law does not include JUST renters, it goes for people who own their houses. I don't really see anything wrong with enforcing zoning laws.

If y'all cared as much about single family zoning laws as you did Green Space Zoning Laws this town and county would be better for all of us.

Now quit your bitching, pick up your trash, bake your neighbors an apple pie, go see a bobcat football game, and go to a ****in' city council meeting and tell them your problems. I watched all the zoning meetings on TV and I aint never seen any of ya'll there

( hey, it's pretty fun being a prick. LOL This is a really good issue and it's been great reading everyones point of veiw)

05-02-2005, 01:34 PM

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Quote:

#1 It is undeniable that the school has a HUGE impact on local economy. Who is the largest employer in the city? Not just directly but indirectly. Including contractors. How much money is reinvested into our community by those people alone?

It is far from undeniable and the original argument was that the STUDENTS drive the economy, which they most certainly do not. Half of them do not even live here. The largest employer in San Marcos is undeniably the Austin tech sector. Watch the traffic in the morning. It is leaving San Marcos and going to Austin.

Quote:

#2 The students do spent money. They buy gas and groceries. They're cars break down and they're clothes wear out. Not only do they spend money on education but they also spend a lot on entertainment. With out them there would be no salary for the many people who work for TSU. And the many people who are smart enough to cater to their needs. Ever go to Walmart or HEB on a saturday or sunday afternoon? Next time count how many students are in there spending money.

I never said that they do not spend money. I just said that they do not spend enough to drive the economy. If the 12,000 students who actually live in San Marcos had enough money to drive an economy of 45,000 citizens, we would not even be having this discussion because they would not need to triple and quadruple up as roommates.

Quote:

#3 This law is descriminatory, not only against students. I am a young professional. 26 years old. I am not a student. I do not have a family. I could rent my own place if I so choose. But the city would rather take that choice away from me. What about 2 single mothers sharing a house because they cant afford anything else? Minorities living with extended family who might not have the same last name? Anyone who is not in a family. Thats a lot of people to lump together.

None of the examples cited above fall under the zoning regs. You can rent a house. The two single moms can rent a house, the extended family can rent a house. So, I don't see your point.

Quote:

#4 Enforcement. This law has your neighbours spying on you to enforce it. It is based on recording who's vehicle is parked at the residence over a 21 day period. And who that vehicle is registered to. That is how we are determining who lives where in San Marcos? And then you just file a complaint and the offenders get a ticket. What are the checks and balances in this system? Does this sound stupid to anyone else? This is the best our brave city leaders could come up with?

This is the same as in any other city. The checks and balances are the same as with any other citation. How is this confusing? You're right about the spying, that's why I won't bother looking into anyone's living situation unless they are loud and their place is strewn with trash, which was my original point. I suspect, as I have repeatedly said, that other neighbors won't bother turning in good neighbors either.

Quote:

Come to think of it I would rather live in Hunter or Martindale if this is the type of asinine reasoning that is controling our local government.

The zoning regs are pretty much the same everywhere you go. Sorry. Maybe you could move to an unincorporated area and avoid the zoning, assuming there were no neighborhood associations enforcing the same sorts of regulations, as well as regulations about fence heights, vehicles in the driveway, dog houses, etc.

I watched all the zoning meetings on TV and I aint never seen any of ya'll there

Actually, I have been to a few of the meetings and I have actually spoken at some.

There is a piece of property in our neighborhood, which is low-density single family zoned and the owners (who live in Houston) want to re-zone it and put in apartments. When that got shot down, they wanted duplexes, and on and on.

Assuming that all of the Texas State employees live in San Marcos, which they do not. That's about 10% of the population.

All of these employers together only add up to 12,000 jobs. How many of those go to college students? How many go to people from other cities and towns?

Approximately 67% of the population are working age and about 95% of them are employed. So, there are about 30,000 employed people living in San Marcos and probably 20,000 of them work outside the city.

Assuming that all of the Texas State employees live in San Marcos, which they do not and assuming that none of them are students, which many are that's about 10% of the working population. Compared to about 65% who bring money in from other cities. Hmmm.

Compare that to 20,000 employed by the University of Texas, 17,000 employed by Dell (in Austin), 11,000 employed by the City of Austin, 9,000 employed by Motorola, 7,000 employed by IBM, 6800 employed by Seton, 5800 employed by the IRS, 5600 employed by HEB, 5500 employed by American Plumbing and Mechanical, etc. Not to mention San Antonio. That?s what drives our economy. Yeah, we get a ton of money from the outlet malls. I?d be curious to see how much we get from the university, compared to all of the tax money that we pump into it. Either way, these influence the economy, just like Grande does and Centex does. They do not drive the economy.

San Marcos is becoming a bedroom community for Austin and San Antonio, that just happens to be home to a university.